T410s connected to L215p monitor-good enough for photo work?

[s2kdriver80]

I never had set up an external monitor with a laptop, so just have 3 questions regarding the L215p monitor.

1) The T410s outputs screen resolution with an aspect of 16:10. A monitor like the L215p (most new wide monitors for that matter) display an aspect of 16:9. Can I still view with a 16:10 ratio if I use that monitor? I never sacrifice distorted aspect ratios for more screen real estate as things never look correct to me. When I'm watching TV and a channel broadcasts in 4:3, I never widescreen it and "stretch" the image to fill the screen because I like to see things how they were meant to be seen, if you know what I mean. The bottom line, can I preserve the 16:10 when using this monitor (e.g. have the vertical dimension maxed out while having black letterboxed gaps on the left and right)?

2) I'm going to be using the T410s with the L215p. People have been subjectively rating the T410s screen from poor to mediocre, but never awesome. Does the L215p have better image quality (contrast, dynamic range, brightness) than the T410s screen? I know that the image quality from the L215p won't be cutting edge given the moderate price, but just wondering if it's an improvement from the T410s screen in every or most ways.

3) I'm not a pro photographer and my livelihood doesn't depend on shooting pictures, but I do photography as a hobby. I would like to post process my photos using Photoshop and Lightroom and was wondering if the L215p can get the job done (can it be calibrated accurately, is image reproduction to real life close enough, can I post process knowing that what I see is reasonably close to reality, etc).

Thank you.

[Puppy]

L215p is an ordinary home/multimedia/office monitor having TN panel. The TN technology is not suitable for photo processing at all. If you are looking for cheap monitor having anything better than ugly outdated TN panel, try Samsung SyncMaster F2080/F2380 (C-PVA), Dell UltraSharp 2209WA (E-IPS) or NEC MultiSync EA231WMi (E-IPS) which is probably the best one in this category (warning: I'm biased here having great NEC 2090UXi )

LCD Monitor Buyer’s Guide: Spring 2010 - Shopping for a Photographer’s Monitor

[Volker]

I'd say its an ok monitor for home use if you calibrate it. Just print some photos/color charts and then adjust your monitor to match. Colors will be better than the laptop display, but not by much. Try to upgrade to a PVA/IPS screen next time, it is worth the money...

[s2kdriver80]

L215p is an ordinary home/multimedia/office monitor having TN panel. The TN technology is not suitable for photo processing at all. If you are looking for cheap monitor having anything better than ugly outdated TN panel, try Samsung SyncMaster F2080/F2380 (C-PVA), Dell UltraSharp 2209WA (E-IPS) or NEC MultiSync EA231WMi (E-IPS) which is probably the best one in this category (warning: I'm biased here having great NEC 2090UXi )

LCD Monitor Buyer’s Guide: Spring 2010 - Shopping for a Photographer’s Monitor

Thanks for the info. I think I'm leaning toward the Dell Ultrasharp 2209WA due to the generally good reviews and the 16:10 aspect ratio which would mate up to the T410s perfectly. It looks like this model is almost a year and a half old. Still ok to buy?